I am passionate about the idea that nothing should go to waste. In fact, some of the best designs can actually come from ‘waste’ products.
Take my backing cloth design, for example. It is a series of serendipitous patterns that appear organically whilst printing other products, and over the years has become a popular feature on my website. The use of those random, spontaneous designs has also inspired successful prints, which can be seen in our Kismet range. This features on scarves, cushions, phone cases and more. It came to life from the patterns that emerged on the backing cloth of our printing table, and has grown into one of our most popular ranges.
It is important to me that we do all we can to reduce waste and be sustainable. Here are just a few of the ways we are attempting to do our bit:
Using Every Scrap
I run a small business working from my own studio in North London, which is where all of our designs originate. The majority of our time is spent designing, screen printing and working hard to come up with new ideas. Once we have finished the design process, we make it our mission to use every last scrap of fabric that we have worked on.
From silk scraps we make lavender bags and purses, we cover soaps in our ‘work in progress’ designs printed on paper, and we even sell off the calico backing cloth pinned to our table as art pieces.
Anything left over we bag up and sell for crafting projects, and if there is anything left over at that stage, we give it to schools. There is literally zero wastage!
Friendly Products & Packaging
When it comes to packaging we think long and hard about what we can use that will have the least impact on the environment.
Where possible, we avoid the use of plastic and are constantly putting pressure on our suppliers to do the same. We work closely with them to try and reduce environmental impact at every stage of the production process and do what we can to create a better world.
A few years ago we made the decision to switch the packaging for our bed linen from plastic to fabric bags. What’s more, we try to reuse any packaging that comes into the studio, so please forgive the appearance of our boxes when they arrive!
We are also always looking at ways we can improve our products to make them more ethical and sustainable. Our feather-filled cushions are sourced from a company who takes animal welfare seriously, only using meat industry by-products and ensuring all animals are given Farm Animal Welfare Council standard of care.
In addition, we are currently researching ways of incorporating the Better Cotton Initiative into our future collections of bed linen.
Keeping It Local
The online part of our business requires us to send out packages across the world, so to counteract some of the environmental damage this causes, wherever possible we try to consolidate our orders.
Over half of our products are made in the UK to reduce the amount of items we have to fly in.
We also like to support local communities, charities and organisations. Most of our cushions are cut here in the studio and sewn up by a social enterprise in the East End of London called the Working Well Trust. I have been working with this charity for 20 years and they do amazing work supporting people with mental health issues.
As a small business we do everything we can to practice sustainability and comply with ethical standards, and are always looking at new ways we can improve our working practices. As a female entrepreneur I recognise my position as a role model for future generations, and I have lectured at various universities and colleges.
